Arnold Daniel Palmer (September 10, 1929 – September 25, 2016) was an American professional golfer who is generally regarded as one of the greatest players in the sport's history. Dating back to 1955, he won numerous events on both the PGA Tour and the circuit now known as PGA Tour Champions. Nicknamed The King, he was one of golf's most popular stars and its most important trailblazer, the first superstar of the sport's television age, which began in the 1950s.

Palmer's social impact on behalf of golf was perhaps unrivaled among fellow professionals; his humble background and plain-spoken popularity helped change the perception of golf as an elite, upper-class pastime to a more populist sport accessible to middle and working classes.[1] Palmer was part of "The Big Three" in golf during the 1960s, along with Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player, who are widely credited with popularizing and commercializing the sport around the world.

Palmer was born in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, a working-class steel mill town, the son of Doris (Morrison) and Milfred Jerome "Deacon" Palmer.[3][4] He learned golf from his father, who had suffered from polio at a young age and was head professional and greenskeeper at Latrobe Country Club, allowing young Arnold to accompany his father as he maintained the course.[5]

Palmer attended Wake Forest College on a golf scholarship.[6] He left upon the death of close friend Bud Worsham (1929–1950) and enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard, where he served for three years and had some time to continue to hone his golf skills. After his enlistment term ended, Palmer returned to college and competitive golf.[7]

By 1954 he was about to turn professional after winning at the U.S. Amateur in Detroit.[6] "That victory was the turning point in my life," he said. "It gave me confidence I could compete at the highest level of the game."[6] When reporters there asked Gene Littler who the young golfer was that was cracking balls on the practice tee, Littler said: "That's Arnold Palmer. He's going to be a great player some day. When he hits the ball, the earth shakes."[6]

After winning that match, Palmer stopped the job he had at the time of selling paint, and played in the Waite Memorial tournament in Shawnee-on-Delaware, Pennsylvania. There, he met his future wife, Winifred Walzer, and they would remain married for 45 years, until her death in 1999.[6]

On November 17, 1954, Palmer announced his intentions to turn pro.[6] "What other people find in poetry, I find in the flight of a good drive," Palmer said.[6]

Palmer's first tour win (in his rookie season) was the 1955 Canadian Open, where he earned $2,400 for his efforts.[7] He raised his game status for the next several seasons. Palmer's charisma was a major factor in establishing golf as a compelling television event in the 1950s and 1960s, setting the stage for the popularity it enjoys today.[7] His first major championship win at the 1958 Masters Tournament cemented his position as one of the leading stars in golf, and by 1960 he had signed up as pioneering sports agent Mark McCormack's first client.[7]

In later interviews, McCormack listed five attributes that made Palmer especially marketable: his good looks; his relatively modest background (his father was a greenskeeper before rising to be club professional and Latrobe was a humble club); the way he played golf, taking risks and wearing his emotions on his sleeve; his involvement in a string of exciting finishes in early televised tournaments; and his affability.[7][8]

Palmer is also credited by many for securing the status of The Open Championship (British Open) among U.S. players. Before Ben Hogan won that championship in 1953, few American professionals had traveled to play in The Open, due to its travel requirements, relatively small prize purses, and the style of its links courses (radically different from most American courses). Palmer wanted to emulate the feats of Bobby Jones, Sam Snead and Hogan before him to become a leading American golfer.[9]

In particular, Palmer traveled to Scotland in 1960, having already won both the Masters and U.S. Open, to try to emulate Hogan's feat of 1953, of winning all three in a single year.[7] Palmer played what he himself called the four best rounds of his career, shooting 71-69-67-69. His scores had the English excitedly claiming that Palmer may well be the greatest golfer ever to play the game.[10] British fans were excited about Palmer's playing in the Open. Although he failed to win, losing out to Kel Nagle by a single shot,[7] his subsequent Open wins in the early 1960s convinced many American pros that a trip to Britain would be worth the effort, and certainly secured Palmer's popularity among British and European fans, not just American ones.[10]

He played his first British Open in 1960, finishing runner-up, which was a great disappointment. But his appearance did at least draw American attention to the Open, which they had previously ignored.[11] But Palmer went on to win the Open in 1961 and 1962, last playing it in 1995. Martin Slumbers, chief executive of the Royal & Ancient, called Palmer "a true gentleman, one of the greatest ever to play the game and a truly iconic figure in sport".[11] His participation in The Open Championship in the early 1960s "was the catalyst to truly internationalize golf," said European Tour chief executive Keith Pelley.[11]

Palmer's most prolific years were 1960–1963, when he won 29 PGA Tour events, including five major tournament victories, in four seasons. In 1960, he won the Hickok Belt as the top professional athlete of the year and Sports Illustrated magazine's "Sportsman of the Year" award. He built up a wide fan base, often referred to as "Arnie's Army", and in 1967 he became the first man to reach $1 million in career earnings on the PGA Tour. By the late 1960s Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player had both acquired clear ascendancy in their rivalry, but Palmer won a PGA Tour event every year from 1955 to 1971 inclusive, and in 1971 he enjoyed a revival, winning four events.

Palmer won the Vardon Trophy for lowest scoring average four times: 1961, 1962, 1964, and 1967. He played on six Ryder Cup teams: 1961, 1963, 1965, 1967, 1971, and 1973.[7] He was the last playing captain in 1963, and captained the team again in 1975.[14]

Palmer was eligible for the Senior PGA Tour (now PGA Tour Champions) from its first season in 1980, and he was one of the marquee names who helped it to become successful. He won ten events on the tour, including five senior majors.[7]

Palmer won the first World Match Play Championship in England, an event which was originally organized by McCormack to showcase his stable of players. Their partnership was one of the most significant in the history of sports marketing. Long after he ceased to win tournaments, Palmer remained one of the highest earners in golf due to his appeal to sponsors and the public.[15]

In 2004, he competed in the Masters Tournament for the last time, marking his 50th consecutive appearance in that event.[16] At his death, he was one of two Masters champions, along with Nicklaus, to be regular members of Masters organizer Augusta National Golf Club (as opposed to the honorary membership the club grants to all Masters champions).[17]

From 2007 until his death, Palmer served as an honorary starter for the Masters.[18] He retired from tournament golf on October 13, 2006, when he withdrew from the Champions Tours' Administaff Small Business Classic after four holes due to dissatisfaction with his own play. He played the remaining holes but did not keep score.[19]

Palmer designed more than 300 golf courses in 37 states, 25 countries, and five continents (all except Africa and Antarctica), including the first modern course built in China, in 1988.[6][7] He purchased Latrobe Country Club, where his father used to be the club professional, in 1971 and owned it until his death.[7] The licensing, endorsements, spokesman associations and commercial partnerships built by Palmer and McCormack are managed by Arnold Palmer Enterprises. Palmer was also a member of the American Society of Golf Course Architects.

A case was initiated in 1997 by Palmer and fellow golfer Tiger Woods, in an effort to stop the unauthorized sale of their images and alleged signatures in the memorabilia market, against Bruce Matthews, the owner of Gotta Have It Golf, Inc. and others. Matthews and associated parties counter-claimed that Palmer and associated businesses committed several acts, including breach of contract, breach of implied duty of good faith and violations of Florida's Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.[21] On March 12, 2014, a Florida jury found in favor of Gotta Have It on its breach of contract and other related claims, rejected Palmer's and Woods's counterclaims, and awarded Gotta Have It $668,346 in damages.[22][23]

One of Palmer's most recent products (mass-produced starting in 2001) is a branded use of the beverage known as the Arnold Palmer, which combines sweet iced tea with lemonade.[7][24]

As a measure of his popularity, Palmer, like Elvis Presley before him, was known simply as "The King." But in a life bursting from the seams with success, Palmer never lost his common touch. He was a man of the people, willing to sign every autograph, shake every hand, and tried to look every person in his gallery in the eye.

"No one did more to popularize the sport than Palmer," according to Adam Schupak of Golf Week. "His dashing presence singlehandedly took golf out of the country clubs and into the mainstream. Quite simply, he made golf cool."[6]Jack Nicklaus said:

“

Arnold transcended the game of golf. He was more than a golfer or even great golfer. He was an icon. He was a legend. Arnold was someone who was a pioneer in his sport. He took the game from one level to a higher level, virtually by himself.[25]

”

In 2000, Palmer was ranked the sixth greatest player of all time in Golf Digest magazine's rankings, and by 2008 had earned an estimated $30 million.[26][27]

In addition to Palmer's impressive list of awards, he was bestowed the honor of kicking off the Masters Tournament beginning in 2007. From 2007 to 2009, Palmer was the sole honorary starter. In 2010, longtime friend and competitor Jack Nicklaus was appointed by Augusta National to join Palmer.[31] In 2012, golf's The Big Three reunited as South African golfer Gary Player joined for the ceremonial tee shots as honorary starters for the 76th playing of the Masters Tournament.[32] In describing the effect that Palmer had on the sport, biographer James Dodson stated:

“

We loved him with a mythic American joy... He represented everything that is great about golf. The friendship, the fellowship, the laughter, the impossibility of golf, the sudden rapture moment that brings you back, a moment that you never forget, that's Arnold Palmer in spades. He's the defining figure in golf.[6]

Palmer was married to the former Winnie Walzer for 45 years and they had two daughters.[7] She died at age 65 on November 20, 1999, from complications due to ovarian cancer.[33] Palmer married his second wife Kathleen Gawthrop in 2005 in Hawaii.[34][35]

Palmer's grandson, Sam Saunders (b.1987), is a professional golfer,[7] and grew up playing at Bay Hill, where he won the club championship at age 15. He attended Clemson University in South Carolina on a golf scholarship and turned pro in 2008. Saunders stated that Palmer's family nickname is "Dumpy".[36]

Palmer resided in Latrobe during spring and summer months, and wintered in Orlando and La Quinta, California.[37] He first visited Orlando in 1948 during a college match. His becoming a resident of Orlando helped the city become a recreation destination, "turning the entire state of Florida into a golfing paradise".[38] That included building one of the premier events on the PGA Tour there along with his contributing to new hospitals.[38]Tiger Woods, on hearing about Palmer's death, said "My kids were born at the Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women & Babies, and his philanthropic work will be remembered along with his accomplishments in golf."[25] Arnold Palmer Boulevard is named in his honor.[38]

Arnold Palmer Regional Airport in Latrobe was named for him on his 70th birthday in 1999.[7][41] According to their website: "[The airport] started as the Longview Flying Field in 1924. It became J.D. Hill Airport in 1928, Latrobe Airport in 1935 and Westmoreland County Airport in 1978. Complimenting a rich history rooted in some of the earliest pioneers of aviation, the name was changed to Arnold Palmer Regional in 1999 to honor the Latrobe native golf legend who grew up less than a mile from the runway where he watched the world's first official airmail pickup in 1939 and later learned to fly himself."[42] There is a statue of Palmer made by Zenos Frudakis, holding a golf club in front of the airport's entrance, unveiled in 2007.[43]

Palmer's early "fear of flying" was what led him to pursue his pilot certificate. After almost 55 years, he logged nearly 20,000 hours of flight time in various aircraft.[44]

Palmer's personal website reads:

“

Next to marrying his wife, Winnie, and deciding on a professional career in golf, there's only one decision Arnold Palmer considers smarter. Learning how to fly an airplane.[45]

From a humble start working at the local club in his beloved Latrobe, Pennsylvania, to superstardom as the face of golf around the globe, Arnold was the American Dream come to life... Today, Michelle and I stand with Arnie's Army in saluting the King.

Palmer's life was also celebrated less than one week after his passing at the Ryder Cup at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minnesota, just outside the Twin Cities, by both teams.[49][50][51] The celebration included a video tribute and a moment of silence during the Opening Ceremony, which also included tributes from the opposing captains - Davis Love III for Team USA and Northern Ireland's Darren Clarke for Team Europe - and the opposing honorary captains - Nicklaus for Team USA and England's Tony Jacklin for Team Europe. During the matches, the players paid tribute to Palmer, which included wearing a special logo, button and pin. Palmer's bag from the 1975 Ryder Cup was also placed on the first tee as a tribute. Palmer had won more than 22 Ryder Cup matches and had also captained Team USA to two victories, in addition to holding or being tied for the records for youngest captain, most career singles points and most points in a single Ryder Cup.[51] PGA of America president Derek Sprague stated:

“

The game has never known a more enthusiastic sportsman than Arnold Palmer. So it is fitting that we pay tribute to Mr. Palmer during the 41st Ryder Cup, to celebrate it in a very special way, the life of an unforgettable champion and gracious ambassador of the game.[50]

”

Two days after a 17–11 victory, which marked the first American Ryder Cup triumph since 2008 at Valhalla and which Love dedicated to Palmer, the majority of the team attended the memorial service for Palmer at St. Vincent College in Latrobe and also brought the trophy after Palmer's daughter Amy asked the team if they could do so.[52]